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.The horse reared back, squealing in terror, and nearly crushed Damien against the jagged wall behind them.He didn’t dare let go lest the animal trample him, but nor did he have a secure hold on its saddle; as falling rocks pelted them like hailstones he struggled to stay in control, tried to calm the beast.But all his practiced words and signs could do nothing to lessen its terror.Maybe it could sense from him just how dangerous their position was.Maybe the fae had taken his own fear and injected that into the animal, so that it must deal with human terror along with its own.Or maybe the tremendous surge of earth-fae that had blinded Gerald Tarrant was capable of amplifying all their reactions so that logical decisions were drowned out in a deluge of primal fright.Something struck Damien.Hard.Sharp rock cut deeply into his skull, as though he had struck the wall—or the wall had struck him.He felt something massive come down onto him, crushing him against his saddle, driving both him and the horse to the ground.Only the ground wasn’t there anymore.His horse’s feet struck wildly at where the ledge should have been and found only emptiness.The flawed rock had crumbled—and they were tumbling downward, the two of them, blood pouring down into Damien’s eyes as the river rushed up hungrily to meet them.He felt darkness closing in on him and fought it, fought it back with everything in him that hungered for life—because to lose consciousness now was to die, plain and simple.Head pounding in pain, hands shaking, he somehow managed to yank his foot out of its stirrup and twist himself so that when the animal landed he wouldn’t be beneath it.They struck with a force that sent water flying high up onto the cavern walls.The horse screamed in pain as it landed, began flailing out wildly.Rock rained down like hail about them as Damien struggled to get out of range of the animal’s hooves.Then the current grabbed him and he went under; ice-cold water filled his mouth as the river’s angry force slammed him against rock—once, twice, again.He reached out for anything to serve as anchor, to fight against the current, but his fingers met only slick rock and slid off, leaving him to the mercy of the water.Dimly he was aware that the current had dragged him down deep, very deep, and was taking him out into the middle of the river.His lungs already throbbed with pain, and he had to struggle not to try to breathe as he tried to determine which way was up.But all was chaos about him, a churning hell of icy water and rock that had neither direction nor order.He felt one shoulder strike bottom with a force that nearly drove the last air out of his lungs, and for one desperate moment he thought that he might Work to save himself—but the ground was still trembling, and the rumble of the earthquake still sounded even below the water, which meant that a Working meant death.Absolutely.Only a fool would even try it.Or a dead man.He gathered himself, knowing with one portion of his mind that he was about to be fried to a crisp—and knowing with another that if he did nothing he would certainly die.The river was too strong to fight.He needed air.Blood-red stars exploded before his eyes as his lungs began to convulse spasmodically, but he kept his throat closed as he gathered himself for a Working.The cold of the water had numbed him with a chill that was strangely warm.Was this what dying was? Time, now.Grasp the power—And then something jerked him, hard.The stale air burst from his lungs and before he could stop himself he breathed in; water poured into him, drowning out his life.But something had taken hold of his harness, was dragging him back.Stars were swimming in his vision as he reached out toward the source of the movement.A strong arm grasped him, hand to wrist, and held.He was yanked upward—and he broke the surface gasping, water pouring out of his nose and mouth as he retched helplessly, dragged above the level of the river’s surf by a grip even colder than the water, colder than the river and the freezing wind and all his fear combined.He stumbled as he was pulled through the icy current [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]